Manchester, England (AP) —
Nicki Minaj’s highly anticipated concert in Manchester, scheduled for Saturday night, has been postponed after the rapper was detained by Dutch authorities at Amsterdam Airport. Police discovered marijuana in her bags as she was preparing to leave the country for her performance in the United Kingdom.
The incident, which took place on May 25, was captured by Minaj in an Instagram Live video later reposted by fans on social media. In the video, an Amsterdam official is heard stating his intention to take Minaj into custody for “carrying drugs,” despite her insistence that she was not in possession of any contraband.
“I’m not going in there. I need a lawyer present,” Minaj, 41, is seen responding to the authorities, who repeatedly ask her to step into a vehicle and stop recording.
Promoter Live Nation announced that the performance will be rescheduled, and all tickets will be honored. “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible,” the promoter stated. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”
Earlier on Saturday, Minaj tweeted about the incident, explaining that she was stopped at the Amsterdam airport as she was about to board a plane for Manchester. She tweeted that the police found marijuana in her bags and needed to weigh it. Although cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, it is tolerated for recreational use.
Robert Van Kapel, a spokesperson for the Netherlands military police, confirmed that a 41-year-old American woman was arrested for exporting “soft drugs.” He did not identify the woman or elaborate on the type of drugs. Police later tweeted that they fined and released the woman.
Minaj expressed her frustration on social media, tweeting that she believed the authorities intended to delay her arrival for the Manchester concert. “Told you, it’s to try to make me late so that they can write negative stories. Jealousy is a disease. You know the rest,” she tweeted.
On Instagram, Minaj suggested that her Pink Friday 2 tour was being sabotaged. “They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show,” she wrote. “They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now they’re waiting on customs. This is what it looks like when ppl are paid big money to try to sabotage a tour after all else failed. Everything they’ve done is illegal.”
Her representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Nicki Minaj, the Trinidadian-born rapper known for her hits “Super Freaky Girl,” “Anaconda,” and “Starships,” has been nominated for 12 Grammy awards over the course of her career. The Manchester concert is part of her “Pink Friday 2” tour, which includes stops in Paris, Poland, Germany, Romania, and Switzerland.
